Live On
by VioletLink7
Summary: Danny loses everything...Three years later, Clockwork sends him to a different dimension. Danny discovers the world of mutants-now if only he knew who were the bad guys and who the good guys... Adopted from Clockwork's Apprentice's Life and Death.
1. Prologue

**I don't own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Prologue**

Dead. They were dead. The word seemed so final, so permanent, I could barely think it. I choked back a sob as the nurse poked her head in the room.

"Are you alright?" she asked me. Her hair was blonde and she was wearing scrubs in that typical, weird turquoise color. I almost wanted to laugh—how could I be alright?—but it all seemed hollow.

"Physically," I replied. She nodded in understanding and left me alone. That day…I'm not even sure what to think anymore. I'd been gone for two weeks—as Fenton _and _Phantom—and when I appeared again, it was at Sam's window.

_Tucker was pacing nervously, slowly wearing a hole in Sam's bedroom floor as the goth and my sister watched him from their place on the bed. I phased through the window, collapsed to my knees, and coughed violently. I looked down at the faintly glowing ectoplasm in my hand._

"_Danny!" Sam looked at me, horrified._

"_Dude, who did this?!" Tucker asked in shock. Before I could answer, my parents busted into Sam's house—luckily, her family wasn't home._

"_Danny, quick! Turn human!" Tucker said._

"_It doesn't matter…" I muttered weakly. I watched as everything seemed to click in their minds._

"_No…" Sam gasped._

"_Dude…" Tucker added. Jazz merely started sobbing. My parents burst into the room and glared at me. Dad—no, Jack—pulled out a highly unstable new weapon labeled the Ecto Molecule Destroyer. He aimed right between my eyes and pulled the trigger._

_Explosions…death…I'm still not sure what happened, I may have gone intangible out of pure instinct. Maybe that's why I was still alive. All I knew for sure was Jack's weapon malfunctioned. Majorly. When I opened my eyes, I saw only rubble. The mansion was in complete ruins. Shambles. Utterly obliterated. I barely registered when my energy gave out and I flashed back to human; I was too busy searching for them._

_Jack…Maddie...Tucker…Sam…Jazz. I held my sister in my arms and cried. I sobbed my heart out. She looked at me, and I felt a tug at my heart—she was still alive!_

"_Da…nny…"_

"_Jazz! Listen to me, sis, you're gonna live. Okay? I'll protect you. You'll be alright…"_

"_Danny...listen…to me…"_

"_No, save your energy, please, we can talk later, okay?"_

"_Danny…no…I won't—"_

"_Don't say it, Jazz, please. Don't say it," I was desperate for her to live. She needed to live._

"_It's…al…right…Danny," Jazz gasped out, looking me right in the eyes. "Please…just…promise me…something…just…one thing."_

"_Anything in all the worlds, sis," I sobbed. "Anything."_

"_Live…on…little brother…Don't…be sad…for…too long…okay?" Jazz smiled at me._

"_**Live on."**_

* * *

Ta-da! Short prologue. :P I've been working on this story for a few weeks, actually, but Pokemon X came out and I've been sick, plus college... Anyway, I'm totally addicted to writing this story, and I'm really proud of what I've done so far! It's my longest story yet! (Current, un-edited, length is 8600ish words.) This was adopted from Clockwork's Apprentice's story Life and Death. I wasn't _intending _to change much about her story, but it kinda ran away with me. You'll see soon enough. ;)

I hope you enjoyed the prologue! It has been titled "How to Kill Your Feels in Two Minutes" by Just-Another-FanBoy160, and my unofficial (but awesome and invaluable) beta, Lost-Lovegood, told me "May wizard god smite your feels-inducing soul." Needless to say, I laughed maniacally for quite awhile. :3

-Vi


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

The paramedics had found me after my sister died in my arms and I'd passed out in the ambulance. Next thing I knew, I'd woken up in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over my face. I was in the hospital for three days—during which time I was questioned by the cops (I was as honest with them as could be without mentioning Phantom)—before Vlad came to get me. Apparently, he was my legal guardian. I was _not_ happy.

Neither were the doctors_, _at first; they insisted I needed to be in the hospital. Vlad told them he preferred to have his own physicians look after me, and they'd reluctantly agreed. (In reality he was bailing me out because being a halfa meant I would be fully-healed within two more days, and such a thing was just not possible for a human.) After a month of living with the man—all while planning my escape—he let me go.

"_Daniel, I know you're not happy here."_

"_Whatever gave you that idea?" I huffed. He ignored me._

"_Daniel…here," he handed me a credit card. "Go somewhere safe."_

"_You…why?" was all I could ask._

_He sighed sadly, "Maddie's death…it's changed me. I didn't really expect you to stay here. However, when you go, I have a few conditions. You are, after all, all that's left of her. One, you are to call me at least once a year—no less! Two, you are to use that money reasonably and responsibly. Three, no more ghost hunting." I opened my mouth, but he held up his hand. "Before you protest, I will get the ghosts to leave Amity; I do have _some _power, after all."_

_I was at a loss for words. "Thanks, Fruitlo—Vlad." He nodded, I stuck out my hand (It felt like we were having a moment, but I was _not _hugging him), and he shook it._

That was three years ago. Age seventeen and I still hadn't found a place to stay. I mean, I'd found plenty of _places,_ but nothing I could call home. I never stayed anywhere for more than three months (except for my lair in the Ghost Zone), but I'd been all over—Europe, Asia, South America…pretty much every country in the world. I'd made some friends here and there, but it wasn't…I was just too different.

I'd been staying in the Ghost Zone for almost a whole year. I'd originally come to visit Clockwork. He had some...troubling news. Apparently, because I'd defeated Pariah Dark, that made me the most powerful ghost in the Zone—the new king. I still wasn't entirely used to that fact. Pariah's Keep had, well, _morphed_ to "reflect the new king." _Phantom's _Keep was a white castle with black accents.

I'd spent a _lot _of time moping around my castle. I hate to admit it, but I'd fallen into quite the depression as soon as I'd stopped moving around. I understood now how Dan could be so overtaken with grief. I understood, but I would _never_ turn into him. I'd _promised. _And Danny Phantom_never_ breaks a promise.

Clockwork told me three days ago that he was sending me to a different dimension. The stop-watch said it would "help with my healing," but I'd been doubting more and more if I'd ever be happy again. He said this dimension was nearly identical to my Earth, but instead of ghosts there were mutants.

Only some people were mutants, and the normal humans apparently had a general mistrust or even hatred of them. Why can't people handle differences? Clockwork didn't tell me much else, just the basics I'd need to not be totally lost.

So here I was, flying through the sky on some strange Earth to a place called Bayville. I hoped I could finally find a home there, but it was a small sliver of hope. I sighed and landed on the ground just outside of Bayville, checked for onlookers, and switched back to human form. No sense advertising my strangeness. It got my blood boiling, though, that people were so close-minded towards mutants.

I knew what that was like—to not be accepted—probably better than many. I didn't like the idea that what happened to me could…happen to someone else… I put my hands in the pockets of my black jeans, grateful for the dark red jacket I wore over a navy shirt in this chilly weather. My black combat boots thumped against the ground and the wind blew my long-ish hair in my face.

I was fingering the Ring of Rage that hung on a chain (along with a mini Time Medallion) around my neck—apparently, it "marked me as the new king" and even if I tried to get rid of it, it would just come back to me—when I heard the growling. I whirled around and came face-to-face with a wolf.

"I _so_ don't have the patience for this," I grumbled. I cracked my knuckles, smirked, and green ectoplasm lit up my right hand. I teleported—yes, teleported, Clockwork sent me into combat training with Frostbite during my year in the Ghost Zone (kings must learn to fight properly, you know), and I'd gained a few new powers—behind the wolf and blasted it. "Simple."

I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me and dodged an on-coming attack. I turned to the man; he was wearing an orange and black jumpsuit. Weird.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" I asked.

"My problem is _you, _bub!" he yelled at me. I didn't back down.

"Who are you?"

"I'm with the X-Men, and I'm taking you down!" the man continued to yell. I just sighed and kept dodging his attacks. "Jean, I need some help here!" _Jean? _The man ran into the woods and seconds later a girl about my age came out. _Why didn't they attack together?_ I dashed in the opposite direction, hoping to avoid a fight if possible.

"Logan, get him!" the girl called. There was a pause and the man appeared again, slashing at me. I shot off a few ecto-blasts and hit him right in the side. He fell and I continued running.

"Wait!" I heard a woman's voice. I stopped and turned. "The X-Men…they got me too," a woman with blue skin and red hair was holding her side in obvious pain. "Follow me," she said. It was curious that she was hit in the same place where I hit that strange man, but I followed her. I had to know what was going on, and who these "X-Men" were.

-o-

The woman—Mystique—introduced me as the newest member of the "Brotherhood" and said I would be a "unique addition to the team."

"Wait a minute," I protested. "Who said I was joining your team? No offense, but I have no interest in teamwork." Not since they…I still couldn't say it.

"Don't be silly! Of course you want to join," Mystique insisted—like it was obvious, "where else will a poor mutant like yourself go? We try to live in peace here." She thought I was a mutant. Huh. I mean, I suppose I'm like a mutant, but I don't have this "X-gene" Clockwork was telling me about. Then again, it'd be easier to explain away "mutant" than "half-ghost from another dimension." I decided to roll with it.

I was still pretty wary about everything, but I let Mystique brief me on the Brotherhood and the X-Men. She said the Brotherhood was trying to live in peace, though the humans wouldn't let them. They didn't like humans—which I could understand, but mutants are human, too. She told me the X-Men were the bad guys, "mutant hunters," she'd called them. For some reason, all of this just didn't sit right with me. I had no reason to doubt her, but I had no reason to believe her, either. She reminded me of Spectra.

Personally, I didn't like this place. It wasn't homey, it just seemed off…_I don't know, I'm just tired from traveling, I guess. _I brought some of Vlad's money with me; if it was the same currency, I could just buy my own place. Maybe a shop or something so I wouldn't have to keep depending on the Fruitloop, reformed though he was (okay not entirely reformed, but at least he wasn't trying to kill me or make me his evil apprentice anymore, right?).

And suddenly, it seemed like a great idea. A house above a book shop/café. I just hoped I could find a suitable shop with an owner who'd be willing to sell to a seventeen-year-old. For now, I just needed to get out of here. So I did just that.

"Where are you going?" Mystique asked me.

"'fraid I'm not at liberty to say," I smirked at her before turning back to leave, "I'll think about your offer, though." _Well, probably not._ I waved.

* * *

Sorry it's so short after making you wait! I hope you enjoyed it, though. I've currently written the first draft through to chapter 7, so I can say for sure that this story will be _far _longer than any of my others! I'm pretty proud of it. I'm guessing maybe around 10 chapters for the full length, but since I haven't quite worked out the ending (I ended up putting in unplanned twists), I'm not entirely sure. Next update should hopefully be up by Wednesday, just depends.

**Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! :D And an additional thanks to my awesome unofficial beta, Lost-Lovegood!**

-Vi

_She really was just making you wait, it's just been sitting here for days, she's horrible like that. Am I going to be thanked each chapter? Because I could get used to this x3_  
_~L_


	3. Chapter 2

**I do not own Danny Phantom, X-Men: Evolution, or Kryptonite.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

I found a cool place for sale by the school I'd be going to under Mystique's orders (I may not like her, but she was right that I should go to school). When I called the owner, he seemed relieved to make the sale. I wondered if the place was haunted…well, I supposed it _was_ haunted, now. Anyway, the place was mine soon enough and I began to fix it up.

There were two floors, an attic, and a basement; the first floor would be the shop, and the second would be my home. In a few weeks' time, not only did I have the shop all set up, but I had a pretty decent customer base. It was almost time for me to start school (I'd convinced the school to let me off for two weeks to get settled in since I'd just moved here and was supporting myself.)

-o-

_Rogue_

I got tired of Evan and the others and headed out of the Institute to take a walk. They were so immature! I sighed and walked towards the school…why, I'm not sure. There was a shop I'd never seen before…_The Phantom's Café…_I shrugged, it seemed interesting, and went inside.

The floor was covered in an abstract pattern of black and white stones, the walls were a pale gray, and black bookshelves lined seemingly every available space. Except for the area to my right as I walked in—there were black tables with white chairs and a large counter with a menu above it. _Must be the café part._

I wandered around for a few minutes and, when I tried to reach a book on a high shelf, I noticed the ceiling—it looked like someone had painted a snapshot of space straight from the NASA archives. While I was openly gawking at it, I saw someone reach up and pull the book I'd been trying to grab down for me.

"Was this what you were trying to reach?" a boy about my age asked me.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks," I smiled at him, "name's Rogue."

"Danny," he smiled back. "First time here?" I nodded. The next thing I knew, we were talking about anything and everything. We talked and talked until it was time for the shop to close. Danny apologized for having to kick me out (he was the owner!), but said he had to start school on Monday and needed to get some sleep before then. I was pretty excited to have such a mature new friend going to my school.

Mystique was _not_ happy when I told her I wouldn't be joining the Brotherhood. I didn't like them, and they didn't like me, so how could she possibly think I'd say yes?

The stares I received when I walked into school were a bit…disconcerting. I couldn't help but pull some hair over my face to check to make sure it was black (it was). Didn't they get new kids around here? I'd left my store in the capable hands of my second-in-command. He was a really nice guy named Rob. He totally deserved more than I paid him.

When I arrived at my first class of the day, I grinned at seeing Rogue and took the seat behind her, saying, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied. Unfortunately, the teacher cut off any more conversation. At lunch later, I was a bit lost. _Okay, where to go?_ Finally, I spotted Rogue sitting by herself and she waved me over. By the end of the school day, I decided could really call her a friend. Well, not quite like _they_ were, but definitely the closest I'd had to a (human) friend in a long time.

I'd noticed a cute brunette girl staring at us during lunch, and when I spotted her outside school, I decided to go up and ask if she was alright. She blinked like she was surprised.

"Like, yeah, I'm okay," she giggled.

I smiled at her, "Good to hear. I'm Danny, by the way. You know, if you wanted to join Rogue and me, you just had to ask. No need to be shy." She blushed, introduced herself as Kitty, and I chuckled, waving to her as I headed home.

"Hey, what gives?" Lance growled at me, "I thought you were on our side!"

"What do you mean?"

"Rogue and Kitty, man! The X-Men!"

My eyes widened a bit, "_They're _with the X-Men? I didn't know that…but anyway, who said I was on your side?"

"Aren't you Mystique's new pet?"

It was my turn to growl, "I told her this morning I wasn't joining you. Now, get lost." I watched in satisfaction as he walked away grumbling before heading home myself.

-o-

_Scott_

I was sitting in my car at a traffic light when I noticed the two teens on the sidewalk. What was that new kid doing with Lance? He wasn't Brotherhood, was he? The Professor had told us the Brotherhood had a new member, someone Cerebro was having trouble detecting, and I kind of suspected he was this mysterious mutant. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I decided to keep an eye on him.

This morning Rogue _insisted_ we go to this new place called The Phantom's Café after school; a promise is a promise, and I drove the six of us over. We sat at one of the café tables sharing a plate of nachos when I saw the new kid walk in. I watched as he disappeared into the back of the store. Several minutes later, he emerged with a guitar _(where'd he get that from?) _and made his way to the small stage near the café area.

He grabbed a stool from the side and adjusted the mic to his height. Sitting down, he introduced himself as Danny _the_ _owner. _He began playing and I was surprised by how good he was. I still had mixed feelings about him—after all, Kitty and Rogue seemed quite taken with him, and I was _not_ going to let this kid hurt them. We had enough to deal with since everyone found out about mutants.

"_You called me strong, you called me weak, but still your secrets I will keep_

_You took for granted all the times I never let you down_

_You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you'd be dead_

_I picked you up and put you back on solid ground_

"_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?_

_If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand?_

_I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite."_

-o-

_Kurt_

This new kid, Danny, had some serious skill. I didn't know what Scott had his panties in a twist about. So he talked with the Brotherhood a bit—so did Rogue back in the day. If he really was _with_ them, that was another story, but the way he avoided them in the school halls made me think they were still trying to recruit him. He stepped off the stage and I stood up (the nacho plate was empty anyway) to talk to Danny.

"Hey, dude, nice playing!" I held up my hand for a high-five. He slapped it before bending down to pick up his guitar and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"My name's Kurt," I introduced.

"Danny."

"I know. Do you really own this place? It's cool," I grinned.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, my guardian's kinda disgustingly rich."

"Awesome! Anyone famous?" I was getting excited.

"Oh, no…" he trailed off like he wasn't sure what to say. "He's no one you'd know. Anyway, I live in an apartment above the shop."

"Cool!" I liked this guy. He was either a great actor, or the Brotherhood thing was a complete misunderstanding. I was hoping for the latter.

"Would you like to see?" he asked me. "I've gotta put my guitar away, anyhow."

"Yeah, totally!"

"Come on then," he smiled and gestured for me to follow him to the back of the store. We walked past the bookshelves and through a door labeled "Owner Only." The stairs led up to a living room with black-stained wooden floors and white walls. The couches and other assorted furniture were all black and white with bits of neon green splashed here and there.

"You wouldn't happen to like black and white, would you?" I joked.

He chuckled, "You could say that."

"Any particular reason?" I asked.

"Yeah…it's a long story, though," he replied cryptically. I was very curious what this "long story" was, but I'd just met Danny, and I figured it was personal. I watched as he put his guitar on a rack on the wall, sat on the couch, and waved me over.

"So, just so I know where we stand," he said with hesitation, "does the term 'X-Men' mean anything to you?"

"You know about us?" I asked, surprised. He nodded. "How? And how'd you know I'm a mutant? People haven't really made the connection yet…"

"Mystique. She was the first person I met when I came to this d—city," he didn't sound like he liked her very much. "And I kinda figured since you're so close to Rogue and Kitty—Lance told me about them—that you're one, too. You all live at the Xavier Institute, right?"

I sighed, "You're more perceptive than most of the student body."

"You totally don't have to tell me, but I'm curious what your powers are," he looked excited. He already knew about the X-Men, and since he was a mutant, too, maybe he wouldn't have a problem with my appearance. The others at the Institute didn't, but I was still wary of telling new people. _Here goes nothing…_I flipped the switch on my image-inducer.

He gasped and I worried for a minute he'd react badly. Until he said, "Awesome! Get any cool powers, too?" I grinned and teleported to the other couch in a flash. His excitement seemed to grow, "Teleportation, eh?" I blinked when he disappeared. Something touched my shoulder and I jumped three feet and teleported back to my previous place in surprise.

"How'd you get over there?!" I asked. Danny was standing behind my former seat grinning from ear to ear. Then suddenly he was in front of me.

"You're not the only one who can teleport," he winked and sat down again.

"Cool! Never met another teleporter before!" I decided then and there that Danny and I would get along swimmingly.

* * *

Happy Halloween! I'd really like to know, what did my readers dress up as? Did any of you just stay home like me? I dressed as Robin and handed out candy~ Tomorrow I'll be going to a renaissance faire with Just-Another-Fanboy160 if his sister is feeling better, though. :)

*Ahem* back to the story (A.K.A. the reason you're here :P). I like the end of the chapter; Kurt is just so darn adorable! In fact, my favorite Pokemon on my X game (lucario) is named Nightcrawler. And I have a riolu named Kurt. Yep. One of my reviewers asked me to make this story DannyxRogue. Well, that was CWA's original pairing...you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Thank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. My unofficial beta, Lost-Lovegood, deserves huge thanks for this chapter! Originally it was a lot shorter and a bit silly...and there was no Kurt PoV! (Which reminds me, any time there is _not _a name listed above a section, it's Danny because he's the main PoV.) She brought the silliness to my attention and I rewrote it; I'm so much happier with it now.

-Vi

_*preens*  
Well you know me, silliness is just not my thing. I have no sense of humor at all, actually. When clowns see me coming they burst into tears and run away, which is good because then they can't see me doing the same.  
~L_


	4. Chapter 3

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

School was almost unbearable. Jean and Scott wouldn't leave me alone! I'd resorted to ducking into bathrooms and turning invisible just to hide for a few moments. Not to mention dealing with a glaring, angry Lance and company.

"Look, Danny," Pietro managed to corner me in the hall before I could hide, "You're better off with _us,_ or even on your own, than with _them."_

"Hmm," I put my hand on my chin like I was thinking about it, "I choose on my own. Bye!" I checked the area for other people and teleported after confirming it was clear. I landed in a tree in the courtyard and slung myself from the top of the branch down to the ground. I sat under it all the time during lunch when I was sick of dealing with the other students.

"Hey," Rogue said as she came and sat beside me, "you okay?"

I snorted and just pointed to the door that led to the cafeteria, where Jean was coming out. She was probably looking for me.

"Yeah, she can be a bit irritatin' at times."

"I feel sorry for you, living with those guys," I said. I was thinking not just about them following me, but also about how Jean and that other guy had supposedly attacked me. I doubted more and more that they were mutant hunters, as Mystique had said, but I still didn't have an explanation for the attack.

"Nah, they're family," Rogue smiled lightly.

"Family, huh?" I mused. "Must be nice." The closest people I had to family, now, were Clockwork and Frostbite. They were great…but it wasn't the same.

"What do ya mean?" Rogue asked.

"I…I'm sorry, I can't talk about it."

"I shouldn't have asked," Rogue relented. "I'm sorry, Danny."

"It's fine."

-o-

When I finally met the X-Men…they were in the middle of a practice. I, unfortunately, hadn't known this. All I saw was people attacking each other, so I intervened. I think they were mad because I managed to fight them off without using my powers, but we all apologized to each other. Something about them didn't seem evil, not like Mystique.

Rogue had invited me to the mansion to meet Professor Xavier, so when the practice debacle had ended, she dragged me inside.

"You _live_ here?" I asked Rogue. "This place is even bigger than _Vlad's!"_

"Who's Vlad?" she asked. I smacked my forehead—good going, Fenton!

"He's, uh, my legal guardian," I relented. I didn't want to lie to her; I just hoped she didn't want to meet him. The "he lives in my _dimension" _thing might not go over so well.

"Oh," she replied. "So how come you don't live with him?"

_"That_ is a _long _and _complicated_ story, my dear Rogue. So where's this professor you wanted me to meet?" I smoothly changed the subject. I was seriously not volunteering the dimensional traveler information unless I was forced to. Rogue led me to a room farther in the mansion that appeared to be a study.

"Professor Xavier?" she called from the doorway.

"Rogue, come in," replied a kind voice. Rogue pulled me into the room and onto a couch. "So this is the young man who's been causing such trouble." The man smirked.

"I don't mean to cause trouble…"

Professor X laughed, "It's quite alright, Daniel.

I relaxed, "Danny, please."

"Alright, Danny," he obliged. "Why don't we start off with answering any questions you have?"

"Well, I do have one…"

"What is it?"

"What's Mystique's power?" I asked. I was pretty suspicious about that first encounter I'd had with her and the X-Men.

"She's a shape-shifter, why?" Xavier looked at me curiously.

"I knew it! So she _did _trick me when I first got here!" I exclaimed. So my entire reason for distrusting the X-Men was a lie. It was just way too convenient for Mystique. Not to mention her injury was the _same_ as the one I'd given that Logan guy.

"Tricked you?" Xavier raised an eyebrow.

"Two of the X-Men attacked me, but something really didn't seem right about the whole encounter. If I assume that Mystique used her shape-shifting powers to pretend to be them, it all makes sense."

"That's an astute observation."

"I learned quite a bit about both how to fight and when not to fight through the school of hard knocks," I confessed. Ghost fights had taught me that hitting was not always the answer, and had honed my observation and problem-solving skills. Freakshow, Ringmaster of Reality, may have been too insanely powerful to beat, but a little psychology and I'd won quite easily. "There's something else I don't quite understand, though."

"What is that?"

"Why Mystique wanted me so bad," I said. I'd been wondering since I got to this dimension. For all these people knew, I was just a mutant. What was so special about me? "She said I'd be a 'unique addition' to the Brotherhood."

"Really? Tell me, what were you doing before she attacked you?" the professor asked me.

"I was attacked by a wolf, so I teleported behind it and blasted it," I shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'blasted'?"

I formed a tiny ball of ectoplasmic energy in my hand and began tossing it up and down saying, "I shot this energy at it to knock it out." Seemed pretty straightforward to me.

"You can do that _and _teleport?" Xavier's eyebrows were threatening to raise clear off his head.

"Is that weird?" I asked.

"Extremely," he informed me. "Mutants generally have one power, and if they have others they are most often related to each other. Such as Jean's telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Two powers, but related. Teleportation and this...energy have nothing to do with each other. In short, you are something rarely seen."

"Oh," I said, stupidly. Good going, Fenton! I guess I'm still clueless. "That's just _wonderful." _What will they do if they find out I'm not really a mutant? That I have even more power than they think? Will they throw me away because I'm not their kind, or want me even more?

* * *

Hi there! it's, uh, been a bit longer than I'd intended. I'm sorry about that! I'm even more sorry that I'm going to have to put this story on a minor hiatus. College is the ruiner of all fun. Hopefully I can get back into writing in a week. If not, Thanksgiving isn't too far away. I'm gonna have to cut this note short because I have a project due in a little over an hour.

Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews! It was awesome to hear about your costumes. KodiakWolfe13 dressed as Robin! *high-fives* And thanks to my unofficial beta Lost-Lovegood. :)

I'll see you guys soon!

-Vi

_All of your Halloweens sound awesome, I live out in the country and no one visits so I just sat in our kitchen and pouted. See you guys in a week then =}_  
_~L_


	5. Chapter 4

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

I was walking around downtown, simply exploring this place I'd called home for the last few weeks. I wondered why Clockwork had sent me here and how long I'd be staying. Was I here for good? Until I asked to leave? Or would the stopwatch come get me? He must have had some reason for giving me this Time Medallion.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sight of a burning house. Were there people still in there? The firefighters were trying to control the blaze, but it was way too strong for anyone to get in. I vaguely registered Scott in the crowd before gathering my nerves and running straight for the house. There were gasps and shouts for me to stop, but I simply turned intangible and ran straight through the wall.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if Scott would become suspicious as I'd just demonstrated yet another power, but I had no time to dwell on it. This heat was taking a massive toll on my ice core; I had to do this fast. There was a woman huddled in a corner, I turned tangible long enough to take her hand and phased us both outside.

"My…daughter…" the woman cried between coughs. I was coughing too, but ran back in as soon as I knew there was another person inside there. The fire seemed to be burning hotter and hotter. I could feel myself getting feverish. I covered the whole ground floor—no one.

The stairs collapsed before my eyes. No matter, I teleported to the top and began searching the second floor for the woman's daughter. I finally found her—thank God—and teleported us outside as the building began collapsing more and more around us. I startled the crowd and firefighters, but this tiny girl couldn't take much more smoke; I had to get her out as fast as possible.

I handed the crying baby to her mother and asked, "Was there…anyone…else…in there?" She shook her head. I nodded in relief before collapsing to the ground in a fit of coughs. I'd been in there too long, never mind the smoke inhalation, my very core was melting. I blacked out.

-o-

_Scott_

I wanted to desperately to help, but I was no firefighter (even they couldn't get in), and if my glasses fell off this could get a whole lot worse. I watched in awe and a little horror as someone ran straight for the building. Was that…Danny? What was he doing here? My eyes widened as he phased through the wall like Kitty.

This weird kid who could take out most of the X-Men without even using his powers, was part of the Brotherhood, was suspicious and secretive…was also running into a burning building to save people. I didn't get him; he seemed nice enough, but there was so much about him that didn't make sense. I watched him emerge from the building with a woman who said something that caused Danny to run back inside.

Several tense minutes later, and Danny appeared right next to the woman, handing her a baby. What? Could he teleport like Kurt, too? I'd dwell on that later. Danny fell to the ground, coughing, before finally blacking out. I knew what I could do to help.

I pushed through the crowd yelling, "Let me through! He's my brother!" I picked Danny up despite the paramedics' protests. I told them we were from the Xavier Institute and our own doctor would take care of him. They finally relented and I began walking away, before a sparkle on the ground caught my eye. It was a creepy green ring and a gear-shaped pendant on a chain. I was pretty sure I'd seen Danny wearing it, so I picked it up before leaving the scene.

-o-

When I woke up, I jolted up frantically. What happened? Where was I? What about the woman and her daughter?

"Daniel," a voice said. I turned and saw a mutant (it was pretty obvious) with blue fur. Like Kurt but more…beastly. "You need to take it easy, the flames took quite a toll—"

"I don't care," I cut him off, "are they okay?"

"Are who okay?" he asked.

"The woman and her daughter, from the fire, are they okay?" I pressed.

"Ah," he said. "Scott has gone to the hospital to find out; he should be back soon."

I relaxed marginally, "So I take it I'm at the Xavier Institute? Who are you?"

"I'm one of the instructors here, my name is Henry McCoy, but you can call me Beast. It's nice to meet you, Daniel," the man introduced himself.

"I prefer Danny," I said before my energy gave out and I slumped against the pillow. Man, did my head _hurt. _ My eyes were watering from the heat and it was hard to think. My brain felt fuzzy, like it was overheating and shutting down. I blinked to try and focus my eyes before giving up and closing them.

"Danny? Are you still feeling feverish? Your temperature is a healthy ninety-eight; you should be fine," Beast said.

I looked at him, panicked, "I…yeah, my normal temperature is actually about eighty-eight degrees."

Beast's eyes widened, "That means you have over a ten degree fever! Here, you need to drink a _lot_ of water." He handed me a glass of cold water that I downed in seconds.

"I'll be fine," I said, forming some ice in my hand and pressing it to my forehead. The immediate relief was great, and I could think a little better, so I began pushing small amounts of cold from my core to the rest of my body. It was easy to reduce a fever when you could regulate cold straight into your body, but I had to do it slowly so as not to damage my body.

"Did you just make ice?" Beast asked, sounding shocked. Whoops. Stupid fever caused me to reveal _another _power. I was up to, what, four? This was getting harder and harder to explain.

"Uh, yeah, I've got ice powers."

"But the professor said—"

"Actually, the ice _is_ related to my other form of energy. It's not exactly normal ice…I'm not sure how to explain…It's like this energy," I formed an ectoball in my hand, "mixed with ice." I formed a ball of ecto-ice (for lack of a better term) in my other hand.

"Fascinating," Beast stared at the two balls of energy in my hands. The door opened and I started. The energy disintegrated.

"May I talk to Danny?" Scott asked from the doorway. Beast looked at me, I nodded, and he got up to leave the room. Scott walked over and sat in his place on the chair beside my bed. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine soon enough," I said, raising an eyebrow, "since when do you care?"

Scott winced, "Yeah, about that…Look, I'm sorry. I was just being overprotective of Rogue and Kitty."

"It's no problem," I smiled. Overprotectiveness, I could understand. "I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes."

"It's nothing against you personally, I just hardly know anything about you and we've had a rough past with the Brotherhood," Scott looked down at his hands.

I snorted, "I'm sure. Those guys are…interesting, to say the least." We sat in silence for an uncomfortable minute before Scott spoke.

"Oh," he seemed to remember something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the chain holding the Ring of Rage and my Time Medallion. "This is yours, right? I found it on the ground at the fire." I took it from him, wondering why the Ring hadn't simply returned to me—maybe because Scott had it and was intending to give it back.

"Tha—" I began to say before Kurt popped out of nowhere and scared the heck out of me and Scott. I nearly fell off the bed—Scott did fall off his chair.

"Sorry," Kurt said, pulling Scott up off the floor, "We were worried about Danny, I didn't mean to scare you."

"We?" I asked. I got my answer when Kitty and Rogue ran through the door. And I mean _through_ the _closed _door. "How did you do that?"

"I can phase through stuff," Kitty replied. Ah, so that was her power. "So are you alright, Danny? We've been pretty worried about you."

"Yeah," Rogue chimed in, "they wouldn't let us come see you, so we finally decided to force our way in."

I laughed, "I'm okay." It was nice to know they'd worried about me, even if I was perfectly fine (I was pretty much done regulating my temperature back to normal). "As I was saying, Scott, thanks for bringing this back to me."

"Is it important?" Scott asked.

"You could say that," I said cryptically; "the gear-shaped pendant was given to me by my mentor." I slipped the chain around my neck again; whether I was happy about it or not, I was the King of All Ghosts. The Ring of Rage was a valuable and powerful artifact that I was to protect.

* * *

Hey, there! Unfortunately, I am not back to writing yet. :( I have even more work to do that before! Thankfully, I only have 4 more weeks for the term! I'll make sure to finish this story over Christmas break because I'm hoping to take five classes next semester instead of four! (Assuming I can get my professor to sign off on Layout and Design.) I'm sorry I'm making you guys wait again, but here's another chapter. :) As for the story, I've officially run through all the material from CWA's Life and Death (I won't be adding in Jinx as I have no idea what to do with her), and am now venturing into totally (besides the bits taken from canon, of course) original territory. I'm actually pretty excited about my antagonist(s) and the direction the story is going.

As always, thank you **so ****much **for the reviews, follows, and favorites! And thank you to my beta Lost-Lovegood. :)

-Vi

(Side note: what I described is my personal experience with a 102.5F fever, so I'm not just making things up. :P It's a pretty impressionable experience...I still remember exactly how it felt 3 years later.)


	6. Chapter 5

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

A few days later, I was sitting at a table in my café sipping coffee and watching the customers. The place was pretty busy. Scott had told me the girl and her mother were doing fine, but they still didn't know how the fire had started. He'd said they'd told him to thank me for saving their lives.

The X-Men weren't so bad; they were gaining my trust and I was gaining theirs. Professor Xavier had even offered me a place at the mansion (I'd declined due to the café) and a spot on the team. I wasn't ready to _join_ them, I'm not sure I ever would be, but we settled for being allies. Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue were good friends, and, honestly, I liked Scott. I didn't have much interaction with the others (Jean had stopped stalking me at school, though).

The doors of Phantom's Café were thrown open, forcibly dragging me from my thoughts. They bounced off the walls to the sides and the glass in them shattered. Amidst the falling glass stood a tall, smirking, _familiar _figure.

_Freakshow._

"Everyone out!" I yelled, throwing up a shield around Freakshow. Who knew what kind of ghostly artifact he had now, or how in the worlds he had gotten here, but the energy should hold him in long enough for everyone to leave. "Café's closed! Move it!"

"Why, Daniel!" Freakshow cried in mock hurt. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?" He gave a maniacal little laugh. Oh, how I hated that cocky laugh of his.

"You know, _Frederick,_ breaking my doors is bad for business."

"My. Name. Is. _Freakshow!"_ he stamped his feet like a child. Attractive.

"How did you even _get _here?" I games; the customers were all gone and I needed answers. I was in an entirely different dimension, how did one of my enemies find me? And why? "Didn't the Guys in White have you locked up?"

"Why, yes. They did," Freakshow smirked. "But my gracious hosts don't learn from their mistakes, I'm afraid. They found another ghostly artifact, and wanted me to tell them what it was." He held up his arm, on which was a bracelet. A bracelet I knew.

"That…How did the Guys in White get that?" I demanded. "Pariah Dark was wearing it when I sealed him back into the coffin, wasn't he?"

Freakshow shrugged, "They wouldn't tell me how they got it." I dropped my shield, teleported straight in front of him and grabbed his arm.

"No matter how they got it, you're going to give it to me," I growled.

"And why should I do that?" he was struggling to get free of my grip.

"Because it's mine," I informed him. I pulled the bracelet off of his wrist and slid it onto my own.

_"Yours?"_ Freakshow seethed. "You _insolent little—"_

"It belongs to the Ghost King, does it not?" I asked.

"The _Bond of Worlds…_It is said to belong to the King of the Dead; to allow the wearer to rip holes in the very fabric of reality." he recited. It was how Pariah had transported Amity Park into the Ghost Zone all those years ago.

"The King of the Dead, the Ghost King, the King of All Ghosts, whatever you want to call him, I defeated him. Which means I now succeed him."

"You…_You_ are the _King_ of the _Dead?"_ Freakshow asked in horror. "You, a _half-human brat?"_

"I may be half-human, but I speak the truth," I held up the Ring of Rage around my neck. His eyes widened. Freakshow knew enough about ghosts to know exactly what it meant.

"Well! This certainly makes things interesting," Freakshow grinned. I was about to ask what he meant when he showed the staff in his hand. "Did you think my family only had _one_ crystal?" He laughed maniacally. No…Not that…the staff was smaller than his previous one, less garish, and with a smaller crystal, but I could see the similarities.

I could feel myself losing control.

_"This_ crystal is exponentially more powerful than the other. There's a reason it was never used. Ghosts tend to go _insane _if exposed for too long." The last thing I heard was his obnoxious laughter.

* * *

*Cackles maniacally along with Freakshow.* So? Did I surprise you? What do you guys think is going to happen to Danny? (Really, review with your answer, I wanna know!)

It's been over a week since I last updated; I'm sorry! I'm sick (and have been for nearly two weeks) on top of school and family visiting. Good news, though, next week is finals weeks then I'm HOME FREE! ...It's gonna be a rough two weeks, though. About the story: this is one of my favorite chapters-it's short but I just really like it. Freakshow rocks!

As always, thank you very much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! And a thank you to my unofficial beta, Lost-Lovegood.

-Vi

_It's torment Danny time again already? I've been waiting for this~ I, unfortunately, got sick myself this morning and accidentally delayed this update by about half and hour as Vi caught me in nap so I couldn't do the final read-through. It's definitely worth the little wait though!_  
_~L_

(...and then I delayed another two hours because I was cleaning my room... -Vi)


	7. Chapter 6

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

_Rogue_

Danny hadn't been to school in three days. I would have thought it was because of the fire, but he'd come for a few days after Beast had released him. Now, he'd just vanished into the ether. Kurt, Kitty, Scott, and I were going to Phantom's Café to see if he was there.

The place was completely empty. The doors were broken and there wasn't a single person inside. I tried the door that led to his apartment, but this one was locked. I pounded on it for five minutes before Scott declared that he must not be there.

We were about to leave when I noticed Danny's necklace—minus the creepy ring—on the floor by the doors amidst the shattered glass. I picked it up, wondering why he'd left it.

"This seemed pretty important to him," I said, "and the ring's missing. What could have happened?"

"I don't know," Scott said, "but I don't think he left of his own free will. You're right that the necklace seemed important; besides all of this glass on the floor."We had no idea where to even begin to find Danny, so we headed back to the mansion. Cerebro hadn't ever detected his use of power before (which was nearly unheard of), but it was worth a shot.

"Did you hear about those robberies that have been going on the past three days?" Kitty said, trying to make small-talk. "Apparently, the guy robs these places in broad daylight, but they can't catch him." We walked by a jewelry store and I watched as a white-haired kid our age flew through the door, carrying a sack of what was probably stolen merchandise.

"You mean like that?" Scott asked. "Hey, you! You won't get away with these robberies!" The kid turned toward us and smirked.

"You think you can stop me?" he asked. He was wearing a white form-fitting shirt with short sleeves, black cargo pants, white combat boots, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. The shirt had a strange symbol on it that looked like a D with a P inside of it.

"Kurt?" Scott prompted; he teleported next to the kid, grabbed the bag he'd set on the ground, and teleported away. I assumed he'd gone inside the store to return the merchandise. He reappeared next to Scott and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Well, well, well, aren't you interesting? The name's Phantom. Let's play again sometime," he said and vanished.

-o-

_Scott_

When we got back to the mansion, we went straight to Professor X and told him what we'd found at the café and about Phantom.

"This is certainly troubling news," the professor said. "You said this 'Phantom' flew, phased through a wall, and vanished before your eyes?"

"Exactly. It's not normal for mutant powers to manifest so diversely in one person," I said.

"You don't think he's like me, do you?" Rogue asked.

"It's unlikely, though possible," the professor said. "Danny showed a similar unusual variety of powers. It could be we are dealing with a new breed of mutant."

"What does he do besides teleport?" Kurt asked.

"I saw him phase through the wall of that burning building," I said.

"And I witnessed his peculiar energy powers. Beast said he can also create ice but Danny said it's another facet of the energy powers," the professor said.

"For all we know, he has even more powers," I said. "Danny's pretty secretive, anyway."

"Professor…what do you think is going on?" Kitty asked. It was a good question. Things had gotten really weird in Bayville since Danny had arrived. Was it his fault?

"I'm afraid I have no idea, Kitty," the professor sighed.

-o-

_Kitty_

Danny wasn't at school the next day either, and it was really worrying me. I couldn't concentrate all day in class. All I could think about was Danny…and that Phantom guy. If I really thought about it, they looked kind of similar. Plus, Danny's store was called _Phantom's _Café. Could Danny _be _Phantom? No, they didn't act anything alike!

Unless Danny was just acting the whole time. That didn't sit right with me, though. Danny was my friend and I shouldn't be doubting him. If he _was_ Phantom, there _had _to be a logical explanation. I resolved to keep these ideas to myself (I was probably nuts anyway).

"Kurt!" I ran up to my fuzzy, blue friend after school, "I want to go back to Danny's. To see if we missed something."

"I was thinking the same thing, Kitty," Kurt agreed. "We should get Scott and Rogue, too."

"Alright, alright, but let's hurry!" I exclaimed. Scott and Rogue were easy to find (I vaguely wondered why Jean wasn't with them, before remembering she was probably in the library working on her huge science project), and they quickly agreed to come with us. They were just as worried as Kurt and me.

-o-

_Kurt_

We couldn't find any more clues as to Danny's whereabouts at the café. I was just about ready to bust into his apartment, but before I could even suggest it, I heard laughter echo through the building. Cold, deep laughter followed by a high and insane cackle.

"Who's there?" I yelled.

Phantom appeared right in front of my face, saying, "Well, well, hello there, Fuzzball!"

"What are _you_ doing here?" I hissed. Phantom backed up and lifted into the air effortlessly. He pulled his legs up and sat cross-legged in thin air.

"I've come to play with you, of course," he smirked. "You little X-Men are just so interesting!" Something about this guy made chills run down my spine. Scott, Kitty, and Rogue finally made their way over to us from the other side of the store.

"Who are you?" Kitty asked. Phantom tapped his chin like he needed to think about it.

"I'm Phantom!" he finally said. This guy was starting to irritate me.

"And who is Phantom?" Scott pressed.

"Hmm…" he seemed to think for a second before continuing, "I don't want to tell you!" Okay, this guy was really irritating.

"You lookin' for a fight?" Rogue asked Phantom. He seemed intrigued by her and floated back to the ground. He walked around her for a few minutes, studying her.

"Phantom!" a new voice yelled. A man walked out from behind one of the bookshelves, "Quit playing and get rid of them." The man held up a staff; the tip glowed and Phantom looked mesmerized for a second. He shook his head, white hair flying.

"Yes, Master Freakshow."

"Master?" I asked, dodging the green blasts he'd begun shooting at us. What was it Professor X had said about Danny having energy powers? Were they like this? I didn't have time to dwell on it. I made a snap-decision and teleported behind Phantom, grabbing his arms.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." He protested. I held firm. We struggled for several minutes before I noticed the ring on his right hand. Phantom threw me off.

"That ring…Danny?" I asked, getting up and looking him in the eye. I thought I saw them flicker to green, but they were red again so fast it could have been a trick of the light. If I'd blinked, I would have missed it, but I knew what I saw. He'd reacted to the name Danny.

"My name is _Phantom!"_ he shouted at me.

"No," I said, suddenly sure of myself, "you're Danny, aren't you?" Scott and Rogue gasped in shock behind me.

"I thought that, too," Kitty said. "So I was right?" He continued to deny it, but we all knew. He was Danny. Rogue stepped towards him and removed one of her gloves.

"Danny…I'm sorry about this," she said and placed her hand on his cheek. We all expected him to pass out, or at the very least weaken, but nothing happened. Nothing at all. That was _definitely_ not normal. What_ was_ this guy?

"Was that supposed to do something?" he grabbed her hand. "I assume your little mutant power has something to do with physical touch. Did you really think you could defeat the King of the Dead so easily?"

"King of the Dead?" Scott asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I say," Phantom replied. Danny was dead?

"You," Phantom's master appeared to be getting angry, "will stop all of this meaningless talking _right now. Finish them!"_ He was practically growling at us. Phantom's eyes unfocused again and he nodded at the man. Phantom began attacking us again. I managed to dodge them all, until he shot a blue energy at my foot that froze it to the floor.

"Kurt!" Kitty yelled. Phantom stalked toward me. I had to get him to stop before he decided to attack.

"If you're really King of the Dead like you say," I began _(please let this work)_ "why are you taking orders from a guy like that? Surely you're more powerful than him." Phantom paused. He cocked his head to the side and stared at me for several agonizingly silent minutes.

"You're right," he smiled. Wait, that worked? He turned around, walking to his master. The man shrunk back, as if he were afraid of his so-called servant.

"Don't listen to him! I am your master!" he pleaded.

"You, insect, are nothing," Phantom said coldly. He grabbed the staff from the man's hand and elbowed him in the head, knocking him out. Phantom held up his arm, where a bracelet I hadn't noticed before was glowing. A large, green vortex appeared in front of him. He grabbed his former master's collar and threw him into the vortex.

"What'd you do with him?" I asked.

"I threw him in my dungeon," Phantom replied, nonchalantly.

"Oh. So what happens now?" I continued. "Will you go back to being our Danny?"

"No," Phantom's voice grew cold again. "It's true, I _was_ your Danny, but I'm not anymore." The staff in his hands glowed with black energy. Phantom fixed his now-black stare straight on me and vanished before our eyes.

* * *

Muahahaha! So who saw _that_ coming? I adore Phantom. Never has a character been so much fun to write! :D So? So? Thoughts? Predictions? This chapter was soooooooooooo fun. The next one, too. Seriously. Phantom. I love him.

Aaanyway, it's still finals week and I shouldn't be on here but I can't focus on math and animation is irritating so I'm just kinda sitting here waiting for my class in an hour. So chapter for you. ;)

-Vi

_She's been grumpy lately, I think it's the stress. Feel free to bombard her with well wishes as she has even taken a break on reading the fanfictions I recommend to her! *huge dramatic gasp* This cannot continue, she's not writing as much as she should, who will amuse me if she has a break-down? Oh reviewers I'm so worried, please send moral support, because I'm mostly laughing at her stress and that's not helping._  
_~L_

(Side note: thanks for making me sound like a mental case. -Vi)


	8. Chapter 7

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

I didn't exactly feel like I was being controlled. I knew I wasn't acting the way I used to, that my personality had made a drastic change from the norm in the past four days. The thing was, I didn't care to go back. I knew, intellectually, that I was a hero. I wouldn't do any of this stuff. I wouldn't attack my friends.

But I did. And I enjoyed it.

"What are you?" I wondered at the staff in my hands. "Why do I feel this way?"

I swear I heard a voice whisper the name _"Devigi" _in my mind. It couldn't be—Devigi's Crystal disappeared when Pariah the Dark was sealed in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep the first time—but somehow I knew that it was. It was impossible, but it was true.

I _knew_ that I had to lock away the crystal, but I didn't _want_ to. It was a strange feeling, to know something in your head while your heart rejects it. I wanted to keep the crystal. I wanted to keep the power. I knew it was wrong, but I loved it.

-o-

_Rogue_

Phantom…Danny…what had happened to him? What was that staff? Who was his master? Why did his eyes turn black before he left? I didn't understand anything that was going on! I knew, though, that Danny was in serious danger.

I walked back to my room (I'd been taking a shower to try and clear my head) and fell backward onto my bed. I growled at nothing—at everything—what was I going to do? I flipped over on the mattress, grabbing my pillow to bury my face in it and felt something inside.

Reaching inside it, I grabbed at the object, muttering to myself, "What in the world?" I pulled out four rings and a note. I set the rings on top of my pillow and opened the letter.

_Daniel is being controlled. You must help him. Find his Time Medallion__ and__ get him to wear it again. It will trap whoever is wearing those rings, along with Daniel, in a time-loop where the crystal's influence will not be able to reach him. He will tell you more should you succeed.__ The rings will lead you to him._

-_CW_

Danny...Iran out of my room and through the mansion looking for the others. I found them in the kitchen; Scott and Kitty were watching the news while Kurt snacked on a bag of chips.

"Guys! Look at this note!" I thrust it onto the table. All three turned their attention to it.

"Who's this CW guy?" Scott asked when he'd finished reading.

"I don't know," I confessed, "but Danny said that medallion was given to him by his mentor and it says 'CW' on it."

"So this note is from Danny's mentor?" Kitty asked. It seemed the most logical conclusion to me.

"Do you still have his medallion, Rogue?" Scott asked me.

"Of course I do; it's right here," I showed them the pendant and rings in my hands. I was surprised there were exactly four rings, since Danny was friends with four X-Men. Did his mentor know that? Who was CW?

"Alright," Scott said, "Let's go find Danny."

-o-

_Scott_

The four of us were walking around Bayville wearing the rings, unsure exactly what we were supposed to be doing. CW had said the rings would lead us to Danny, but he hadn't said how. We ended up walking to Phantom's Café and decided to go in.

What triggered it, I'll probably never know, but the rings started glowing when we walked inside the building. A light shot out from each ring, the four joining together to become one. The single beam of light flew out the door and down the street toward school.

"Let's follow it!" Kitty shouted. We all ran after it. Sure enough, the light charged to the school and onto the football field, stopping just short of a figure. Phantom. I told Kurt to teleport under the bleachers so he wouldn't be seen.

"Phantom!" I yelled. He turned around to look at us with a bored look on his face.

"What do you three want?" he asked coldly. "Where's Fuzzball?"

"We want our friend back."

-o-

"I'm no longer your friend," I told them. Why wasn't I their friend, though? They hadn't done anything to me.

"Yes, you are!" the girl...Kitty, I thought, exclaimed. "You can't just erase a friendship so easily."

"Would you rather I erase you?" I asked. I felt hatred of them, for some reason. They were my friends, weren't they? I wasn't sure of much of anything anymore.

"You don't mean that," Rogue (I was pretty sure that was her name) said. She was wrong, I definitely meant it.

"You have no idea who I am," I stated.

"You're Danny. You're our friend," Rogue pleaded with me.

"You're the kid who beat the X-Men single-handed," Scott picked up where she left off. I smirked, they hadn't even been a challenge.

"You love to sing and play guitar," Kitty continued. "You're funny and cheery most of the time, but sometimes you seem so sad."

"You don't let many people close; it's like you're trying to bear the weight of the world alone," Rogue said.

"Please, Danny, let us help you," Scott pleaded. I laughed.

"You think you can help me?" I laughed again. "Mere mortals help the King of the Dead? You think I _need _your help?" Yes, I did! A part of me screamed for their help, but most of me scoffed at their insolence.

"You know what I think?" Scott asked. I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "Kurt should be here."

"Frankly, I'm shocked Fuzzball isn't with you, but why mention it now?" I asked. I got my answer when the aforementioned mutant popped into existence behind me. I didn't have time to react before he threw a chain around my neck.

What was—the Time Medallion! Both enormous relief and sheer anger flooded through me, the conflicting emotions driving me mad. Until...it stopped.

I looked up, vaguely noticed I'd fallen to my knees, clutching my head in pain. The world was tinted blue with time magic—Clockwork! He'd come to help me! Hold on...I _wanted _Clockwork to help me.

I looked around at the X-Men, my friends. They were _friends! _The crystal wasn't polluting my mind anymore. I could think clearly again; think like Danny.

"Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, Scott!" I called.

* * *

Alright, so I'm having a crappy day. I won't go into it, but I just checked my email and KodiakWolfe13's review made my day. Thanks for making me feel better, here's a chapter! Also, I forgot to thank everyone last chapter so double thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites and extra thanks to my unofficial beta, Lost-Lovegood. :)

As for the chapter, this one was also quite fun to write. Then it got sappy...and then I had Kurt pop back in. :D He's great for diffusing awkward/sappy situations! I tried my hand at a sort of different form of mind control and it was definitely a challenge. I hope you enjoyed! All will be explained next chapter. :3 Or at least most of it. I'll explain the crystal, but there are still some loose ends.

-Vi

_I would just like to compliment KodiakWolfe13 on using the perfect amount of caps lock, some might think it's a bit much, but they ARE SO OFF BASE IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY._  
_~L_

(Side note: L really does use an impressive amount of caps lock. She also informed me that I _am _a mental case...and I did not deny it. -Vi)


	9. Chapter 8

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"Danny!" Rogue ran to me, pulled me off the ground, and into a crushing hug.

"Choking, not breathing," I squeaked. She released me.

"You're back!" Kurt exclaimed. The joy in their faces was both heart-warming and heart-breaking. I had an idea what Clockwork had done, and it was not a permanent solution.

"For now," I said. "This won't last forever."

"What do you mean, Danny?" Kitty asked.

"What's going on?" Scott continued. "We have so many questions." Oh, boy, I bet they did. I'd kept them quite a bit in the dark since arriving.

"I know," I sighed. "I think it's time I explain _everything."_

"Everything? What's everything? Kurt asked.

"Well, the first thing you need to know is that I'm not from this dimension, and I'm not a mutant—I'm a halfa," I began. I told them about my family, their ghost hunting, and the portal accident. I briefly touched on my life as a superhero and going from Public Enemy Number One to town hero. There was too much to tell them right now, but I tried to give them an overview.

"So when you said you were King of the Dead…" Scott started to ask.

"Yes, well, I told you how I defeated Pariah three years ago; defeating the king in single combat means I succeed him. Although, Clockwork didn't tell me that until I was sixteen."

"And Clockwork is…?" Scott asked.

"My mentor and the Master of Time in our dimensional system. You see, the dimensions are divided into groups kind of like planets in a solar system. Each group of dimensions has its own Realm of the Dead; ours is called the Ghost Zone.

"Clockwork is both the reason I'm in this dimension and how I'm speaking to you now. Time has stopped, so the crystal's influence can't reach me for now," I explained.

"So the crystal is controlling you?" Rogue asked. I ran a hand through my white hair and sighed; this was going to take a while.

"Well, yes and no. Devigi's Crystal is a very, very old artefact from the Ghost Zone. Originally, it was called the Potenco Crystal and it belong to the Ghost King. The history books are unclear as to just what the crystal was capable of—and Clockwork refuses to tell me—but it was powerful. Unimaginably so.

"The spirit of a man named Devigi, whose hatred of ghosts was so great it prevented him from becoming one upon his death, merged with the Potenco Crystal during the reign of King Malbonfaraj the Good. When the king learned what had happened, he locked the crystal in his vault as it was way too dangerous.

"The crystal doesn't control; it alters a ghost's thoughts, makes them reveal their dark side. So, basically, 'Phantom' acts how I would if I ever turned evil. That's the best description I can give; it's a _very _strange feeling," I finished with a shrug. I really couldn't give a better description of the crystal's power than that. I hoped I'd made at least a little sense.

"I think I get it," Scott said hesitantly, "but that's crazy!"

"Crazier than a half-ghost king from another dimension talking to a bunch of mutants?" I raised an eyebrow.

"This whole thing is just...nuts!" Kitty exclaimed. "I feel like I walked into a science fiction novel!"

"Welcome to my half-life, Kitty."

"Danny," Rogue said, "what do we do?" A good question. I hadn't actually formed a plan yet-how does one plot against oneself?

"The biggest problem here is I should remember everything that's happening right now, so we need a plan that will work even if I know what you're going to do," I ran a hand through my hair again. What to do, what to do.

"We'll need to get you into the ghost zone to neutralize the crystal," I muttered. "I can open a portal while we're still in this time-loop, but you'll have to get us all through it before I can close it up again..."

"How do we neutralize the crystal?" Kurt asked suddenly.

"As far as I know, the only thing that we can do is contain it."

"What can contain that thing?" Rogue asked, eyeing the staff laying on the grass.

"Just one thing," I stated. "The king's vaults."

* * *

_Stay tuned for the rest of Live On._


	10. Chapter 9

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

The world's blue tint faded along with the clarity of my mind. I tried to shake off the effects of Clockwork's interference (he obviously did something to their rings and my medallion so that the freeze left only me stunned), when I felt Fuzzball's hands on my shoulders. The little runt then threw me through the portal I'd made.

I hit the ground hard, skidding across the floor, coming to a stop when my head came into contact with my white throne. I looked up, dazed, as the X-Men jumped through the portal. They gaped at my castle; the stark white walls, the shiny black flooring, the eerie green light filtering through the windows. They were distracted. I could kill them right now, the fools, but where's the fun in that?

I pulled myself up onto my throne, leaning on my arm comfortably and drumming my fingers on the armrest. Four pairs of eyes trained on me like clockwork (not the pesky Time Master).

"Like it?" I asked casually.

"It's...big," Kurt said, oh so intelligently.

"Is it? I hadn't noticed," I smirked. "Now, I told you four the vault entrance was under my throne, so how do you plan to get to it?"

"Through force if necessary," Scott said bravely. Ha! Bravery was a fool's pursuit.

"Uh-huh. Four barely trained mutants are going to force themselves through _me. _I can't wait to see this."

"Let's see if you can back up that arrogance with skill!" Scott said dramatically. I mock-yawned in response. Scott sent an eye-beam straight at my head. I leaned to the right to dodge it.

"You know, I liked that throne, and you just put a hole in it," I said. I stood up and walked toward them. Kitty and Rogue attacked me from both sides, but I caught their fists. Kitty phased her hand out of my grip and went for a kick to the head.

I ducked under her leg, knocking her off-balance, then spun Rogue around by her still-captive fist, knocking her straight into Kitty. The two girls slid across the floor, out of my way for now. Scott began shooting me with eye-beams again-I dodged up, down, to the side. It was child's play.

Rogue had recovered and tried to sweep her leg under mine. I jumped up, kicking her in the chest as I landed. Kitty went for an elbow in my neck, but I ducked under her arm like a limbo stick.

Then it occurred to me.

"Where's Fuzzball?" I asked. He hadn't been fighting me. Why? I turned my attention away from the three X-Men to search for the blue mutant. My throne! The door to the vaults was open. I started to run forward when I felt someone's boot connect with my face.

-o-

_Scott_

"Nice one, Kitty!" I praised. She'd actually knocked Phantom out. I couldn't believe he'd turned his back on us during a fight. I grabbed the crystal staff from his hand and it shocked me. I winced in pain, but this had to be done so I tried to ignore it as I walked to the vaults. There was a staircase under the throne Kurt had moved aside via a hidden button Danny had told us about.

Kitty, Rogue, and I walked down into the vaults and were struck dumb again. There was gold _everywhere-_ it was piled high all over the room like the Cave of Wonders. The walls and floor seemed to be made of a glowing purple crystal. I vaguely registered Kurt taking the staff from my hands before I heard footsteps behind me. I turned towards the noise to see Phantom stalking down the steps.

Phantom's eyes flicked towards Kurt and I knew I needed to buy time for the fuzzball to get the staff locked up. I stepped between them, waving at Phantom tauntingly.

"Kurt!" I yelled. He got my silent message, grabbed Kitty, and teleported to the other side of the vast treasure room. Phantom's eyes glowed a deeper black in anger and I shot at him before he could get to Kurt. Using his pride against him worked, apparently, and he began fighting me.

-o-

_Kurt_

Kitty and I were searching the treasure room for the vault Danny told us could contain Devigi's Crystal. There were gold coins, cups, jewelry, even weapons! Why would someone make weapons out of gold?

"Hey, Kurt, I think I found it!" Kitty called from a few feet away from me. I walked over and looked where she was pointing at a dagger stuck in the crystal wall. Exactly as Danny said, I grabbed the dagger and pushed it into the wall. There was a loud rumbling and the wall opened up for us.

_"No!" _I heard Phantom shout across the room. He was too late, though, as we placed the staff inside a stand. _Like the sword in the stone, _I thought. We exited the room as quickly as possible, Kitty pulled on the dagger, and the vault sealed up.

"Ready, Kitty?" I asked. She nodded and I teleported us to the side of the room Rogue, Scott, and Phantom were on. I noticed Phantom was on his knees, holding his head. A ring of light appeared around his waist, split, and traveled across his body to reveal our friend, Danny. We all jumped at the sight; so that's what he meant when he said he could change between his ghost and human halves.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked Danny as he helped the boy to his feet.

"Y-Yeah, I—" Danny fell over, unconscious, into Scott's arms.

* * *

_One more chapter._


	11. Chapter 10

**I do not own Danny Phantom, X-Men: Evolution, or Forget and Not Slow Down.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was laying in my bed. Not my bed at the café, no, this bed was fit for a king. _Why am I here...? _Then I remembered-I'd been controlled by Devigi's Crystal for the last four days. I groaned as I opened my eyes and sat up.

"Danny!" I heard Kitty yell. She jumped up from where they'd been sitting by my fireplace and ran to the bed. "You're awake. Are you alright?"

I put a hand to my head, man did it hurt, and replied, "Relatively speaking."

"So everything's back to normal?" Scott asked.

I snorted, "The Fenton variety of normal, sure." What is normal to a half-ghost King of the Dead surrounded by mutants? Especially when said halfa grew up in a family like the _Fentons._

"You know what I mean," Scott huffed.

"Can we go back, now? Are you well enough?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, sure," I stood up from the bed, nearly fell over again, and was caught by Scott. "I'm fine, just a bit light-headed from the crazy mind-controlling crystal that probably would have driven me insane in another day or two. Let's get out of here." I waved my right hand in front of me and a portal blinked into existence-I could get used to the Bond of Worlds.

I stepped out of the portal with my arm over Scott's shoulder in front of Phantom's Café, followed by the others. I walked over the shattered glass, surveying the damage. Man, the place was a mess. Too bad "I was being controlled by an evil ghost crystal" isn't a legitimate insurance claim.

Oh well, a headache for another day. The X-Men escorted me to my apartment before I forced them to head home for the day. I was honestly fine.

-o-

A week after the battle, Phantom's Café was reopened and was as popular as ever. I waved at Kurt, Kitty, Scott, and Rogue from the stage—I was going to sing again—and sat down with my guitar. I began without preamble:

"_How many times can I push it aside?  
Is it time I befriended all the ghosts of all the things that haunt me most?  
So they leave me alone, move on with my life  
Be certain the steps of left and right, don't fight the direction of upright."_

I think I understood why Clockwork had sent me to this world. I'll never forget my family, my friends, or my home, but I can move on. The X-Men have taught me to be happy again. They weren't replacements for the ones I'd lost, but new friends I could rely on. I was different from normal humans, but so were they, and that made being a halfa a little less lonely.

"_I'd rather forget and not slow down  
Than gather regret for the things I can't change now  
If I become what I can't accept, resurrect the saint from within the wretch  
Pour over me and wash my hands of it."_

And maybe, I looked over at Rogue, something I'd never considered could happen again.

"_It's time to decide, she's out of my mind__  
__'Cause it'll be me unless I put some thoughts__  
__To rest and leave some faults behind."_

-o-

_Kitty_

We hung around with Danny after the shop had closed, swapping stories and laughing together. It was really nice. Until the café lit up in an eerie green color. We turned toward the source of light, seeing what appeared to be a portal like the ones Danny could create. Out of the swirling vortex floated a ghost in a purple cape with red eyes. Another enemy this soon…?

"Clockwork!" Danny called with a huge grin on his face. So that's the infamous Clockwork? "What are you doing here?" Danny cocked his head to the side in a questioning glance and walked to his mentor.

"Daniel, it's good to see you," Clockwork said with a slight smile. He really doesn't smile much, does he? But he appeared fond of Danny. "Unfortunately, I am not here merely for a social visit. Fights are about to break out among the realms, your kingdom is in need of their king."

"What? But I've never acted much like a king before," Danny said weakly.

"Ghost Zone kings rarely do, but the position is meant first and foremost to keep peace among the spirits. Previously, they would not fight out of fear of Pariah Dark, but even though you have not been formally announced and crowned, the ghosts have noticed the change in the Keep. They know Pariah is no longer king, and tensions have been building over the past year."

"So I'm going to be formally crowned?" Danny looked skeptical for a moment before a smirk crossed his face. "Does this mean I can threaten Skulker with the dungeons for hunting me for so many years?"

"I suppose there are no laws in the Zone against threats," Clockwork looked amused.

"Sweet," Danny replied.

"You know this situation is serious, don't you, Daniel?" Clockwork questioned.

"Of course I do," Danny scoffed, "but you know I'm going to say yes, no matter the consequences or difficulties. I may as well enjoy some part of this."

"Um," I spoke up, "does this mean you're leaving us, Danny?" He hadn't been here that long, but he was family now.

"I…I suppose so, Kitty," Danny said sadly. "I'm sorry, everyone, but I need to go."

"We understand, Danny," Scott said.

"Yeah, go kick some ghost butt!" Kurt cried. Danny looked at him weirdly, probably thinking about the fact that Clockwork had just said his job was to keep the ghosts peaceful. Oh well, Kurt is Kurt. I giggled.

"You'll visit, though, right?" Rogue asked.

Danny smiled, "Of course I will. I promise. And Danny Phantom _never _breaks a promise." Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, then threw them at Scott, who caught them easily. "Look after the café for me, will you?"

"Absolutely," Scott smiled.

"Bye Kitty, Rogue, Scott, Kurt," Danny waved at us before stepping into the portal with Clockwork.

* * *

_I thought Forget and Not Slow Down fit the mood really well, and it's by my favorite band, Relient K. And the RoguexDanny hint was purposely vague, make of it what you will and who he meant when he said "again." Just the epilogue left._


	12. Epilogue

**I do not own Danny Phantom or X-Men: Evolution.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

I stepped through the portal into the Xavier Institute. It had been over a year since I left with Clockwork and it was Christmas Eve. I arrived late enough that everyone was already asleep; I was planning on surprising them on Christmas morning. I closed the portal behind me and lit a small light in my hand with ectoplasm. Something seemed…off. There wasn't a single Christmas decoration anywhere.

I wanted to know why, so I decided to wake up Scott. I wandered, invisibly, through the rooms until I found Scott's. I shook him awake, trying my best not to startle him too much.

"Who's there?" he asked, a little too loudly.

"Shh! Scott, I'm trying to be stealthy," I complained.

"Danny?" Scott asked.

"In the flesh," I said, quietly. "Er, well," I looked down at my ghost form, "you know what I mean. Seriously, though, could you keep it down so I can surprise everyone in the morning?"

"Sure," Scott lowered his voice, "but if you're surprising everyone in the morning, why did you wake me up?"

"I wanted to know why there's not a single sign of a tree, or lights, or presents; it's Christmas Eve!" Scott seemed to deflate as he sat back down on his bed and motioned for me to sit with him.

"Apocalypse," he said sullenly. "He was an insanely powerful mutant, he took Professor X and others, used them to fight against us. We defeated him, but…well, it's been a rough year and no one's feeling the Christmas spirit."

"Man, I'm sorry, Scott," I said honestly. "I wish I had been here to help."

"It's okay, Danny," Scott brushed it off, "they were our problems, and you had your own. Speaking of, how's the Ghost Zone?"

I grinned, "Good! Amazing, in fact."

"You seem a lot better, like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders, but other than that you haven't changed a bit. Well, the crown's new," Scott laughed. What was funny about me in a crown? It wasn't the Crown of Fire—that was reserved for formal occasions—but, rather, my personal crown. Each king chooses his own crown that he wears on a daily basis; they were just regular crowns made of metal and not power-boosters like the Crown of Fire. There was a section in the Keep's vault for the crowns of the past kings.

My crown was a black band with ridges around it in that stereotypical crown style (not the pointed kind) that reminds me of stairs. In the center, above my forehead, was a small green gem and the metal was carved with intricate swirling designs. All in all, it was comfortable to wear, and had been designed just for me by the Far Frozen's craftsmen, so I quite liked it.

"I was finally crowned king, officially," I shrugged, "so I've had to get used to wearing this. I hardly even notice it anymore. More importantly, I think that skipping Christmas is a bad idea. You know, I used to hate the holiday, but I think a little Christmas magic is exactly what the Institute needs right now."

"And what do you propose? Christmas is tomorrow, Danny."

"Oh, I have my ways, Scott," my eyes flashed a brighter green as I said it. "Come on, we have work to do!" I grabbed Scott's arm and dragged him through the walls back to the large foyer. _Let's see, we need a tree, decorations, presents…_

"Hey, do you have a list of all the residents at the institute? Preferably with details like age and gender and including the instructors."

"Of course we do, what do you need that for?"

"Presents, of course! Go get that list for me, will you?"

"I still don't know how you're going to pull this off, but sure. I'm curious," Scott said and walked off to wherever they kept the information I'd asked for. I cracked my knuckles, time to bring in the cavalry. I waved my hand to open a portal to the ballroom of my castle and stepped through.

The sight that greeted me was a room full of ghosts putting the finishing touches on tonight's Christmas Truce party (since the Zone has a real king now, not one locked in a sarcophagus, the traditional location of the party—the castle—has been restored). When I was noticed, I was greeted by a chorus of "King Daniel," "Your Majesty," and other names, along with the occasional "Phantom." Hey, I was just glad Skulker and my other former enemies used my name now instead of calling me "whelp," "dipstick," and "punk."

I walked up to Dora, "Hey, place looks amazing! I've got a question for you."

"Thank you, King Daniel," Dora replied (honestly, couldn't anybody call me Danny anymore? Though Dora used to call me Sir Phantom, anyway). "What do you need of me?"

"Would your volunteers like to help me spread a little Christmas cheer? The X-Men, without whom I probably would have been more of a hindrance than a help in the war, could use some." We called it a war, but it was just a few small battles and a _lot_ of peace negotiations.

"For you, my king, absotively-posilutely.," Poindexter chimed in (it's really weird, at first, to hear all of his 50's slang mixed in with medieval-style titles for me, but you get used to it). Ghosts sure had no qualms about eavesdropping, and it was disconcerting sometimes, but at least I didn't have to explain myself again.

"Great! Bring the leftover decorations and that tree," I smiled, pointing to one of the many Christmas trees in the room. I widened the portal and headed through, leaving Dora to direct them on this side while I directed them at the Institute. We soon had everything that wasn't used in the castle's ballroom (apparently Dora had overestimated) in the mansion's foyer. I put Dora in charge of the bulk of decorating; she had her volunteers running like a well-oiled machine.

Scott came back just then, blinking at the brightly-lit room full of ghosts like he was seeing things. I laughed and walked over to him, it certainly was a sight to see. I was already used to living with ghosts, but to normal people it is an odd picture to have so many around and decorating, of all things.

"Got the list?" I asked. Scott nodded numbly and handed it to me. I took the list and created another portal. "Next stop, the Far Frozen!" I jumped through the portal and was immediately attacked—I mean hugged—by a big, fluffy yeti. I laughed, "Hello to you, too, Frostbite."

"What brings you to our humble land, Great One?" Frostbite asked.

"A favor. I need presents for all the people on this list in the next," I checked my watch—it was midnight—"eight hours or so. Can you do it?"

"Anything for you. I will put my greatest craftsmen on the job!"

"Thanks, Frostbite, you're the best! When you're done, just bring the presents through that portal," I called. I still had another stop to make, and jumped though a different portal.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?" the Lunch Lady asked me when I appeared in her kitchen.

"I have a favor to ask of you, if you wouldn't mind," I told her.

"Have you been eating your meats?" she asked.

"Of course I have."

"Then ask away!"

"Could you cook me a nice, big Christmas breakfast for some folks in need of Christmas cheer?"

"Are there children in need of meat?"

"There most certainly are."

"And I can feed them bacon and sausages?"

"As long as you also feed them eggs and pancakes, you can feed them as many varieties of meat as you like."

"Consider it done!"

"Thanks very much!" I snapped my fingers over the portal so it now opened to the Institute instead of the Far Frozen. "When you're done, just bring the food through here, okay?" I heard the Lunch Lady agree as I headed back. When I arrived, I noticed Scott was staring around looking like a lost puppy.

"Okay there, Scott?" I asked.

"I'm not sure I'll ever understand you, Danny," Scott replied. "How are you doing all of this?"

"Simple, they were decorating my castle's ballroom for the Christmas Truce party and had leftover decorations," I said nonchalantly.

"I'll never get used to this," he sighed. With all of my favors called in, I waited with Scott for the ghosts to do their thing (I'd thought about helping decorate, but it was best not to mess with Dora when she was really into something and I was pretty sure this was one of those times). Two hours later, the decorators had finished and gone back to the Zone and Frostbite's presents started arriving. I think Scott nearly had a heart attack when a yeti came through one of my portals carrying a bunch of packages.

By eight in the morning, all of the presents had been delivered and there was a massive buffet of breakfast food (mostly meat, but plenty of other food as well). Scott looked in awe as I sent him to wake everyone up. I switched back to human form, pulled the hood of my cloak (a gift from Frostbite; it was black with a silver DP insignia as the clasp and was transferable between my halves if I wanted it to be) over my head and leaned against the wall door to the dormitory and turned invisible.

"Scott, what's this about?" I heard what I thought was Jean's voice drift through the door.

"You'll see," was all Scott replied. He pushed through the door and stepped aside, holding it open for the students to walk in. I watched their faces fill with shock and awe. They just stood there for about five minutes, soaking it in.

Finally, Kitty stepped forward and asked what was on all their minds, "Scott, where did all of this come from? How did you do all of this?"

"Oh, I didn't," Scott said cryptically. I supposed that was my cue. I walked over behind Scott and returned to visibility, hood still over my head. The students gasped in freight, but Scott didn't turn around as I'd told him not to. "What's with you guys?" I raised my hands up as if I were going to attack Scott, and watched as the student's horror grew, but instead grabbed my hood and pulled it down.

I stepped around Scott to stand next to him, saying, "Merry Christmas, everyone!" I grinned.

"Danny?" Rogue asked tentatively. Kurt edged forward and poked me with a pen he'd apparently found. Satisfied that I was real, Kurt's face split in a grin.

"You're back!" he yelled.

"Welcome back, Danny!" Kitty called. The three of the tackled me to the ground.

"I missed you, too, but I can't breathe under here!"

"Sorry," they apologized and got off of me. I laughed and they joined in.

"So, you did all of this?" Rogue asked.

"Well, I called in a few favors," I smiled knowingly. "But come and eat everyone, before the food gets cold!" The teenagers needed no more encouragement to rush past me and dig into the delicious spread. Just then, the adults meandered in, blinking a few times as if to assure themselves they were seeing what they thought they were seeing.

Professor Xavier came up to me, saying, "I see you've returned, Danny."

"Yep!" I said, simply.

"I hope you don't mind, but Scott and the others told me about you and why you left. How is your Ghost Zone?"

"Good," I replied. "Wonderful, in fact. We're enjoying the greatest peace in centuries, so I've come for a Christmas visit."

"Will you be staying?"

"Well, later today I'll have to leave to attend the Christmas Truce party since it is being held at my castle and all, but I intend to live here as much as I can get away from the Zone," I smiled at the professor.

I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon catching up with my friends. They'd had a very eventful year while I was gone (I had too, but in the diplomatic, doesn't-make-for-a-very-good-story kind of way). I asked Scott how Phantom's Café was doing. He'd said business was booming and he worked there all the time since graduating. Apparently, my apartment was pretty much untouched, except for regular maintenance my friends had done such as dusting. I definitely entrusted the place to the right guy.

The festivities passed without a hitch, and I believe it was just what the doctor ordered for the students of the Xavier Institute. It was nice to repay them for teaching me to be happy again.

_To live on._

* * *

Da da da da! Live On is, officially, **complete. **I had so, so much fun writing this, and you guys have been amazing. Absolutely my favorite story I've written, and my longest too! 14,563 words (not including auther's notes)! That's over _twice as long _as my previously longest story, _The Court Sorcerer's Quest_, which is a little under 5,000 words (not including auther's notes). I was intending to post these chapters on Christmas (hence the Christmas epilogue), but FFN was down! Then my family exploded...but all's good now, so here I am.

My next project will probably be to edit the stories I've already got up (by the way, I went back and edited this one; nothing that changed the story, just a few bits of prose I didn't like), then I have a couple of Merlin fictions and a DBZ one I've been working on. A sequel for this is a possibility, but it's not going to happen anytime soon (L may tie me up and force me to write a DannyxRogue sequel, though). My next Danny Phantom story will probably be a Teen Titans crossover, but I've gotta rewatch TT before I attempt that. Well, now that I've yacked your ears off...

Thank you so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews! You've all been wonderful, and an extra special thanks to my unofficial beta, Lost-Lovegood.

The conversation with the Lunch Lady is my favorite. **DO YOU EAT YOUR MEATS, READERS?**

-Vi

_L DOES NOT DESERVE HER EXTRA-SPECIAL THANKS. L HAS BEEN AWAY ALL DAY BECAUSE THE INTERNATIONAL SHERLOCK HOLMES EXIBIT STARTS HERE IN OREGON AND (I EVEN GOT A CUTE-ASS SWEATER) AND DELAYED THIS UPDATE BY FIVE HOURS! SO! YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET ASS I WILL FIGHT YOU FOR THE SEQUEL VI. FEAR MY BETA-WHIP OF POWER._

_~L_

(The Almighty Vi fears nothing! ...but L is kinda scary~)


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